England’s Marcus Rashford said he will “never apologise for who I am” in an emotional statement after receiving racist abuse following the side’s Euro 2020 final defeat.

The Manchester United forward was one of three players, along with Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, who were attacked by racist trolls after missing penalties in Sunday’s 3-2 shoot-out defeat by Italy.

Rashford’s England team-mate Tyrone Mings criticised British Home Secretary Priti Patel, saying she had “stoked the fire” by defending those who booed players taking the knee.

Rashford has become a hero to many outside football by lobbying the British government to provide free school meals for under-privileged children during the coronavirus pandemic.

“I’m Marcus Rashford, 23-year-old black man from Withington and Wythenshawe, South Manchester. If I have nothing else I have that,” Rashford wrote in a statement on Twitter.

Rashford, who came on late in the second period of extra time, apologised for his penalty miss and said “something didn’t feel quite right” when he came to take the kick.

“It’s been playing in my head over and over since I struck the ball and there’s probably not a word to quite describe how it feels. Final. 55 years. 1 penalty. History. All I can say is sorry. I wish it had gone differently,” he wrote.

“I can take critique of my performance all day long, my penalty was not good enough, it should have gone in but I will never apologise for who I am and where I came from,” Rashford added.

– ‘Stoke the fire’ –

Images on social media showed a mural honouring Rashford in his hometown of Withington had been defaced before locals covered the hateful language with messages of support.

“Seeing the response in Withington had me on the verge of tears,” Rashford said.

He added that he was proud to have worn the England jersey during his side’s first major final appearance in 55 years, and grateful for the “brotherhood” that was created in the England camp.

Mings criticism is not the first time he has disagreed with Patel.

The Aston Villa star criticised her — after the opening Euro 2020 win over Croatia — for her remarks that taking the knee was “gesture politics”.

She also refused to condemn the England fans who booed the team for doing it.

Premier League teams have taken the knee since last year following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer in the United States.

Patel had said on Monday the racial abuse of the three players was “disgusting” but it did not wash with Mings.

“You don’t get to stoke the fire at the beginning of the tournament by labelling our anti-racism message as ‘Gesture Politics’ and then pretend to be disgusted when the very thing we’re campaigning against, happens,” tweeted Mings.

Mings remarks received support from Patel’s fellow Conservative lawmaker and former defence minister Johnny Mercer.

“The painful truth is that this guy (Mings) is completely right,” Mercer tweeted.

“Very uncomfortable with the position we Conservatives are needlessly forcing ourselves into.

“Do I fight it or stay silent? Modern Conservatism was always so much more to me. We must not lose our way.”

England captain Harry Kane lashed out at those who had posted the racial slurs — following England manager Gareth Southgate who had said the abuse was “unforgivable”.

“Three lads who were brilliant all summer had the courage to step up and take a pen (penalty) when the stakes were high,” tweeted Kane.

“They deserve support and backing not the vile racist abuse they’ve had since last night (Sunday).

“If you abuse anyone on social media you’re not an England fan and we don’t want you.”

The racist attacks were strongly condemned by the English Football Association whose president, Prince William, said he was “sickened” by the abuse.

Source: AFP

Political leaders and footballing chiefs in Britain expressed disgust on Monday at racial abuse targeting England stars, including three black players who missed penalties in the Euro 2020 final against Italy.

But as Facebook vowed yet again to look into abuse on its Instagram platform, Prime Minister Boris Johnson himself came under stinging criticism for earlier refusing to condemn fans who had booed English players’ campaign against racism.

England manager Gareth Southgate said the online invective was “unforgivable”.

“Some of it has come from abroad, we have been told this, but some of it is from this country,” he told reporters.

“We have been a beacon of light to bring people together and the national team stands for everybody.”

Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, the three players whose penalty shootout misses handed victory to Italy at Wembley, were the victims of a stream of abuse on Instagram and Twitter — many apparently from foreign trolls and bots.

“This England team deserve to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media,” Johnson wrote on Twitter.

“Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves.”

While some people identifying as England fans used racial slurs in blaming the trio for the defeat, other offensive messages were accompanied with “forza italia” hashtags.

England’s players have made a strong stand against racism at the tournament, taking a knee before their games including Sunday’s final.

Johnson and others in the Conservatives’ “anti-woke” government had initially defended the freedom of speech of England fans who booed the players, before backing the team later in the tournament.

Former Manchester United player Gary Neville accused the prime minister of having “promoted” racism, noting one notorious past comment by Johnson likening Muslim women who wear the veil to “letter-boxes”.

“It starts at the top. What do you think is going to happen underneath in life? The parents do something, the children follow,” the pundit told Sky News.

Neville joined others such as Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat who demanded tougher action from social media companies.

“Those who write are pathetic and deserve to be identified and face the public consequences, those who publish it are profiting from hate,” Tugendhat said.

– Prince William ‘sickened’ –

In a statement, Facebook said it had “quickly removed comments and accounts directing abuse at England’s footballers last night and we’ll continue to take action against those that break our rules”.

“No one thing will fix this challenge overnight, but we’re committed to keeping our community safe from abuse,” it said.

London’s police force said it was aware of “a number of offensive and racist social media comments” being directed towards the footballers.

“This abuse is totally unacceptable, it will not be tolerated and it will be investigated,” said the Metropolitan Police, who were also probing scenes of mayhem after some ticketless fans forced their way into Wembley Stadium.

England player Raheem Sterling also received a stream of racial abuse after social media users accused him of cheating to win a penalty in England’s semi-final win over Denmark.

“We’re disgusted that some of our squad –- who have given everything for the shirt this summer –- have been subjected to discriminatory abuse online after tonight’s game,” the English Football Association tweeted.

“We stand with our players.”

Prince William, the FA’s president who attended the final with his wife Kate and son George, said he was “sickened” by the abuse.

“It is totally unacceptable that players have to endure this abhorrent behaviour. It must stop now and all those involved should be held accountable,” he tweeted.

Despite the abuse, the overwhelming majority of messages were in support of the players, who have been praised throughout the tournament for helping bring together a nation hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

Source: AFP

Italians celebrated the European Championship football title as a new beginning not only for their youthful national team but for a country that’s been yearning to return to normalcy after being hit hard and long by the coronavirus pandemic.

A cacophony of honking cars, fireworks and singing fans filled the night in Rome as thousands of people took to the streets after Italy beat England in a penalty shootout Sunday to win its first major football trophy since the 2006 World Cup.

“We are coming out of a difficult year and a half which has left us exhausted, like other countries in the world,” said Fabrizio Galliano, a 29-year-old from Naples who watched the match on a big screen in downtown Rome. “This means so much. Sports is one of the things that unites us, among all the things that separate us. But to finally be able to feel that joy that we’ve been missing, it goes beyond sports.”

Many Italians saw the European Championship as a relaunch for a country that spent much of the past 16 months in various stages of lockdown. Italy was the first country outside Asia to get hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and suffered immensely, particularly in the spring of 2020 when hospitals in northern Italy were overwhelmed with patients and the death toll soared. Italy has recorded more than 127,000 Covid-19 deaths, the highest in the 27-nation European Union.

“It’s been a complicated year for everyone but especially for us who were one of the first countries hit. This is a signal of a new beginning,” said Michela Solfanelli, a 30-year-old event producer based in Milan.

Most virus restrictions have been lifted since the spring and those that remain were largely ignored by the mass of Italy fans who danced in the streets of the capital chanting “we are champions of Europe.”

David Bellomo, a 23-year-old from the southern city of Bari, pointed out that this was Italy’s second big victory this year, after Italian band Maneskin won the Eurovision Song Contest in May.

“Thanks to Eurovision and thanks to this game and (football) we’ve managed to come back this year,” he said. “We almost got a triple,” he added, referring to Matteo Berrettini, the Italian tennis player who lost the Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic earlier in the day.

Shoulder to shoulder, fans nervously watched the penalty shootout on two big screens set up on Piazza del Popolo, an ellipitcal cobblestone square at the edge of Rome’s historic center. A deafening roar rose to the sky as Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saved England’s last penalty.

Among the sea of blue Italy shirts was an immigrant family from Senegal, who came from the town of Zagarolo, an hour outside Rome, to experience the final with the crowd in the piazza.

“I am not Italian, but I can feel the emotions. I feel it, as if I were Italian,” said Falilou Ndao, 42. “We really love this country.”

His 13-year-old son Yankho, an Italy fan and football player, was impressed by the team.

“They showed courage. They never gave up, even when they were down by a goal,” he said. “It is so well-deserved. They have been playing great the entire tournament. Go Italy!”

Though people are still required to wear masks in crowded situations, police made no attempts to intervene as throngs of barefaced fans poured out of the piazza, singing the national anthem and lighting flares. Fireworks cracked overhead as fans cruised through the city waving Italian flags from their cars.

Dr. Annamaria Altomare, a 39-year-old gastroenterologist, watched the spectacle with a friend from a safe distance. They were among the few wearing masks.

“We want to avoid the delta variant in this mess,” she said, laughing.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)